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Prehistoric Egypt Paleolithic 300,000–17,000 BC Mesolithic 17,000–9000 BC Predynastic Period 6000–3000 BC
Ancient Egypt Early Dynastic Period 3150–2686 BC Old Kingdom 2686–2181 BC 1st Intermediate Period 2181–2055 BC Middle Kingdom 2055–1650 BC 2nd Intermediate Period 1650–1550 BC New Kingdom 1550–1069 BC 3rd Intermediate Period 1069–664 BC Late Period 664–332 BC
Greco-Roman Egypt Argead dynasty 332–310 BC Ptolemaic dynasties 310–30 BC Roman and Byzantine Egypt 30 BC–641 AD Sasanian Egypt 619–629
Medieval Egypt Rashidun caliphate 641–661 Umayyad caliphate 661–750 Abbasid dynasty 750–935 Tulunid dynasty 868–905 Ikhshidid dynasty 935–969 Fatimid dynasty 969–1171 Ayyubid dynasty 1171–1250 Mamluk dynasty 1250–1517
Early modern Egypt Ottoman Egypt 1517–1867 French occupation 1798–1801 Muhammad Ali dynasty 1805–1953 Khedivate of Egypt 1867–1914
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TheIslamization ofEgypt occurred after the seventh-centuryMuslim conquest, in which the IslamicRashidun Caliphate seized control of Egypt from the Christian dominatedByzantine Empire. Egypt and other conquered territories in the Middle East gradually underwent a large-scaleconversion fromChristianity toIslam, motivated in part by ajizya tax for those who refused to convert.^[1] Islam became the faith of the majority of the population at some point between the 10th and 12th centuries, andArabic became the main language, replacingCoptic andGreek, which had previously served as the vernacular and governmental languages, respectively.^[2]

In the mid 7th century, the Rashidun Caliphate successfully conquered Egypt from the Byzantine Empire. This ended seven centuries of mostly uninterrupted Roman rule over Egypt.^{[note 1]} However, local resistance by the Egyptians occurred during theUmayyad Caliphate that lasted until at least the ninth century.^[3][4][5]

One contributing factor to this resistance was taxation. Under the Rashidun Caliphate and its successors, non-Muslims were required to pay a special tax calledjizya and were given status asdhimmis. The taxation was argued as being justified as local Christians were never drafted to serve in the army.^[6]

This resistance escalated to armed rebellions against the Umayyads and Abbasids in a number of instances, such as during theBashmurian revolts in theNile Delta.^[7]

Religious life remained largely undisturbed following the establishment of Arab rule, as evidence by the rich output ofCoptic Orthodox Christian arts in monastic centers in Old Cairo (Fustat) and throughout Egypt. Conditions, however, worsened shortly after that, and in the eighth and ninth centuries when Muslim rulers banned the use of human forms in art (taking advantage of an iconoclastic conflict in theEuropean-ruledByzantium) and consequently destroyed many Coptic Christian paintings mainly ofJesus and frescoes in churches.^[8]

Under theFatimid Caliphate, Egypt experienced a period of relative tolerance. The Fatimid rulers employed Copts in the government and participated in Coptic and local Egyptian feasts. Major renovation and reconstruction of churches and monasteries were also undertaken. Coptic arts flourished, reaching new heights in Middle and Upper Egypt.^[8] Despite this, by this time, Coptic Christians had lost their majority status,^[2][9] as a result of the intermittent persecution and the destruction of the Christian churches^[10] andforced conversions toIslam.^{[11][12][13][14]}

However, the subsequentMamluk Sultanate returned to previous practices of levyingjizya and forcing conversions.^{[10][15][16][17][18][1]} The Coptic decline in Egypt occurred under the Bahri sultans and accelerated further under theBurji regime.^[19] There were several instances of Egyptian Muslim protests against the wealth of Copts and their employment with the state, and both Muslim and Christian rioters burned down each other's houses of worship during intercommunal clashes.^[20]

As a result of popular pressure, Copts had their employment in the bureaucracy terminated at least nine times between the late 13th and mid-15th centuries, and on one occasion.^[20]

Coptic bureaucrats were often restored to their positions after tensions passed. Many Copts were forced to convert to Islam or at least adopted outward expressions of Muslim faith to protect their employment and avoid the jizya and official measures against them.^[21] A large wave of Coptic conversions to Islam occurred in the 14th century,^{[21][22][20][23][21]} as a result ofpersecution, destruction of churches,^[20][24][25] and to retain employment.^[21] By the end of the Mamluk period, the ratio of Muslims to Christians in Egypt may have risen to 10:1.^[20]

According to the medieval Egyptian historianAl-Maqrizi, soon afterwards in "all the provinces of Egypt, both north and south, no church remained that had not been razed.... Thus did Islam spread among the Christians of Egypt."^[26]

• Spread of Islam
• Coptic identity
• Forced conversion
• Persecution of Copts
• Early Muslim conquests
• Pharaonist movement

• Betts, Robert B. (1978).Christians in the Arab East: A Political Study (2nd rev. ed.). Athens: Lycabettus Press.ISBN 978-0-8042-0796-6.
• Etheredge, Laura S., ed. (2011).Middle East, Region in Transition: Egypt. Britannica Educational Publishing.ISBN 9781615303922.
• Feder, Frank (2017). "The Bashmurite Revolts in the Delta and the 'Bashmuric Dialect'". In Gawdat Gabra; Hany N. Takla (eds.).Christianity and Monasticism in Northern Egypt: Beni Suef, Giza, Cairo, and the Nile Delta. American University in Cairo Press. pp. 33–36.
• Charles, Robert H. (2007) [1916].The Chronicle of John, Bishop of Nikiu: Translated from Zotenberg's Ethiopic Text. Merchantville, NJ: Evolution Publishing.ISBN 978-1-889758-87-9.
• Teule, Herman G. B. (2013)."Introduction: Constantinople and Granada, Christian-Muslim Interaction 1350–1516". In Thomas, David; Mallett, Alex (eds.).Christian-Muslim Relations. A Bibliographical History, Volume 5 (1350–1500). Brill.ISBN 978-90-04-25278-3.
• Kamil, Jill (1990).Coptic Egypt: History and a Guide (Revised ed.). American University in Cairo Press.
• Meyendorff, John (1989).Imperial unity and Christian divisions: The Church 450-680 A.D. The Church in history. Vol. 2. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press.ISBN 978-0-88141-056-3.
• Stilt, Kristen (2011).Islamic Law in Action: Authority, Discretion, and Everyday Experiences in Mamluk Egypt. Oxford University Press.ISBN 978-0-19-960243-8.
• Ostrogorsky, George (1956).History of the Byzantine State. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

• Islamization
• Byzantine Egypt
• Forced religious conversion
• Islam in Egypt
• Roman Egypt
• Coptic history
• Medieval history of Egypt
• Persecution of Christians

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata